Photos

On reaching Mt. Popa, the driver pulled the vehicle off the road so I could enjoy, and photograph, the view of the shrines and monasteries at its summit. (Long ago, I decided I did not need to see the marvellous view from the top of this and that hill. These views seldom photograph very well owing to haze, air pollution, time-of-day, etc.) In the small village, halfway up the mountain, is the Mahagiri Nat shrine. It has played an important role in the lives of the Burmese people, centuries before Buddhism was adopted as a "national" religion. There are Nat shrines at many locations including homes. There are 37 important Nats made up of the spirits of human beings who have died violent deaths.